


Road Trips & Runaways

by DodgerBear



Series: The Trevor Project [27]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-04-09
Packaged: 2020-01-07 08:58:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18407360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DodgerBear/pseuds/DodgerBear
Summary: The family face one of their biggest challenges yet when they find out Lily has deceived them.





	Road Trips & Runaways

 

It was mid-March when the Gallagher/Milkovich/Adams family got news from Alice about the funeral of John Adams. His body was finally being released for burial after a lengthy investigation of the cause of his death that was as inconclusive then as the day he’d died. The authorities were convinced he killed himself and deliberately made it impossible to prove, but they couldn’t find anything to support it so they had to record an open verdict. 

“Why would he do that?” Blake frowned when Alice explained. 

Alice smiled softly. “Your father...”

Blake cut her off with a gentle but firm voice. “Please don’t call him that.”

Alice nodded respectfully. “He had a significant life insurance policy. It wouldn’t pay out if he committed suicide. As it stands there will a substantial amount of money going to his wife.”

“Good for her.” Blake muttered. 

Mickey rolled his eyes at the teenager. “Look kiddo, I know you’re not really feeling the family vibe but Alice didn’t come here to get a load of attitude from you. She’s gotta keep us informed.”

Blake blushed and his eyes fell to his feet. “I’m sorry.”

Alice reached out and squeezed his hand very briefly. “It’s okay. This isn’t easy for me so I can’t begin to imagine how difficult it is for you. But Mickey’s right. I have to keep the guys up to date with everything. Would you prefer I spoke to them privately?”

Blake sniffed and shook his head. “No. I’m good. And I’m really sorry.”

“It’s fine.” She assured him. “So, the funeral is set for next Friday morning. I’ll send the details on.” 

Blake looked up at Yev for immediate reassurance. Yev came through for him. 

“You don’t have to go.”

Blake bit his lip. “I can’t.”

“That’s okay. We can take the day and go somewhere. It’s fine.” 

Alice smiled at the boys and then glanced at Mickey and Ian. “You’ve got good kids.”

Ian grinned. “We do. About that...we want to start the adoption process off soon.”

“For both?” Alice raised her eyebrows. 

Blake blushed slightly but nodded. “If it’s not illegal, I’m in.”

“It’s not illegal. There’s no question of blood relation, coercion or abuse from a person in a position of responsibility. It’s very unusual but not illegal.” Alice confirmed and reached into her briefcase bag. She handed over some forms to Ian. “Those need to be fully completed. I’ll pick them up next week. I assume you’ve talked to Lily about this?”

Mickey nodded. “Yeah. We gave her the option. She knows the score.”

Alice smiled warmly. “I’m glad.”

Blake rubbed his eyes. “How long will it take? The adoption?”

“I’ll make it as quick as I can but we’re looking at around six months.”

Blake nodded. “Okay. Thanks.”

“You’re doing good Blake. Real good.” She gave his hand another squeeze. 

 

Lily wandered into the living room carrying Oliver and found Mickey sitting with his laptop. 

“Hey Sweets.” He flashed her a smile, which turned into a weary sigh as he acknowledged the cat. “Oliver.”

Lily dropped Oliver onto the sofa and perched herself on the arm of the chair Mickey was sat in. 

“What are you doing?”

“Invoices. Why? You bored?”

“A little. I’ve finished my homework.”

“Where are your friends? You wanna hang out with them?”

She shrugged. “Dylan is staying with his grandparents this week. I don’t really hang out with anyone else outside of school.”

Mickey frowned and closed the lid on his laptop, removing his glasses and placing both on the table. Lily crawled into his lap and hugged into him. 

“We can hang out. What do you want to do?” He offered. 

“Will you make cookies with me?”

Mickey pulled back to gaze at her. “You’ve tasted my food, right?”

Lily grinned. “You can’t be worse than Yev. Last time we made cookies he set the whole lot on fire and we had to open all the windows to get rid of the smoke...and I just remembered I wasn’t meant to tell you any of that.”

Mickey barked a laugh. “Sounds about right. We got all the ingredients or do we need to go to the store?”

“Store. I want to make chocolate chip.”

“Yes boss. Let’s do this.”

 

Mickey grabbed a few essentials from the store while Lily darted off to pick up her cookie ingredients. He was weighing up which laundry powder to get - the cheaper one or the one that cost a little more but smelled like a fresh summer day - when a voice broke into his thought process. 

“Mickey?”

He glanced up at the voice and squinted behind his glasses. “Uh...do I know you?”

The diminutive lady with greying blonde hair smiled in amusement. “It’s Linda. Linda Hanson now, but used to be Karib.”

Mickey’s eyes widened in recognition. Now he knew he could see it clearly. 

“Oh wow! Hey! You look great! How are you? How are the boys?” He blurted out and Linda was surprised. It made sense. The last time they saw each other Mickey would never offer up so many words in one sentence. 

“I’m good. The boys are fine, off at college now and forgetting to call me. The usual. What about you? How’s things?” 

He smiled warmly. “Really great actually.”

“You look well.” She observed. 

“Thank you. Took me a while to get my shit together.”

“Ooh I dunno. It was a fair bit quicker than I did.” She joked. 

Mickey chuckled too, but felt a little weird. She was obviously referring to the shit show of a marriage that she clung onto for far too long. 

“You still see Kash?” Mickey bit the bullet. 

She shook her head. “Not since we got divorced about five years ago. Took me a long time to track the bastard down long enough to sign the papers.”

“Good riddance to bad rubbish eh.”

“Cheers to that.” Linda beamed. 

Lily appeared at Mickey’s elbow. “Can I make rice cakes too?”

Mickey brushed her straggly hair from her eyes. “That the shit where you melt the chocolate and pour it on the rice crisp cereal?”

“Yes!” Lily clapped happily. 

“Sure. That’s about the limit of my cooking skills. Go wild, Sweets.”

Lily darted away again and Linda gazed after her in amazement. 

“You have a daughter?” 

Mickey blushed slightly. “Foster daughter. Lily. We’re working on adopting her and her older brother, Blake. It’s a long ass complicated story.”

Linda reached out and squeezed his elbow. “You and Ian?” Her voice was hopeful and when Mickey nodded she gasped happily. “That’s fantastic. I’m so happy for you.”

“Thanks.” He scratched at the back of his neck. “They’re good kids.”

“I’m so glad I got to catch up with you.”

“Me too.” Mickey found himself agreeing with sincerity. “I’ll let Ian know how you’re doing.”

“Thank you. I’m so thrilled you two made it.”

Mickey watched as she gave his arm one more squeeze and then made her way out of the shop. Lily came back with an armful of stuff that she dropped unceremoniously into the basket. 

“Who was the lady you were talking to?”

“Her name is Linda. I used to work for her a long time ago.”

“She nice?”

“Yeah.” Mickey smiled wistfully. “She is.”

Lily seemed to sense the nostalgia licking at Mickey’s soul and slipped her hand into his. “Can we get the one with the nice smell please Dad?”

Mickey’s eyes bugged out of his head and he looked at Lily, who was grinning wickedly at him. 

“Dad?” His brows raised. 

Lily shrugged. “Sure. That’s what you are, right? From now on. I mean...I can hold auditions if you like...?”

Mickey barked a surprised laugh and grabbed Lily in a hug. “Don’t. I’m scared you’ll find better.”

Lily placed her hands on Mickey’s face and stared into his eyes. “I won’t. I can’t.”

Mickey held his breath so he didn’t sob. There was a time in his life that seemed so recent yet was so long ago that to be almost crying in a grocery store would have seemed so bizarre, so abstract and so unbelievable that Mickey couldn’t comprehend. 

“Come on Dad. Let’s go home.” Lily slipped her hand into Mickey’s and led him to the cashier. 

 

Friday morning dawned and Yev was preparing to reveal his grand plan for the weekend to Blake, who was stubbornly still sleeping even though Yev had clattered around the bedroom for the last hour. 

“Jesus Christ Blake, would you wake up?” Yev shoved his boyfriend on the arm. 

“Huh? What?” Blake jolted awake. 

“Finally!” Yev cheered. “Pack a bag. We’re going away for a couple of nights?”

“Where?” Blake yawned. 

“Let me worry about the details. Just get your sexy ass outta bed and into the van in half an hour.”

“Mmm. You’re hot when you boss me around.” Blake grinned sleepily. 

The van was packed up and the boys said goodbye before hitting the road early. Yev wanted to be across state lines before the funeral started so Blake was long gone. Lily wasn’t going to the funeral either. None of them were. 

Yev lit a cigarette and rolled down the window. “You okay?”

“Be a lot better if I didn’t feel like I was being kidnapped.” Blake drawled. 

“I’m not kidnapping you. I’m taking us to Cambridge to check out Harvard. We’re gonna camp out in the van.”

Blake shot his boyfriend a look of dismay. “To cheer me up about my pedo father’s funeral you’re taking me on a day long drive to the place I’m gonna be losing you to in a few months? You really put a lot of thought into that.”

Yev laughed and shook his head. “How about you trust me?”

“Fine. But I better get laid this weekend.”

“Me too.” Yev joked and hit the open highway. 

 

John Adams was reduced to a pile of ash by lunchtime and Mickey felt better living in a world without him almost immediately. Ian had switched shifts so he could spend the day with Mickey and Lily, but the youngster informed them that she would be spending the day and night with Franny. So that’s how the men ended up in the house alone in the middle of the day. 

“Wanna get freaky?” Ian smirked and stripped off his t-shirt right there in the living room. 

Mickey raised his eyebrows. “Right here?”

“Right here, right now. We never have the house to ourselves.” Ian stated firmly and started to unzip his jeans. 

“A striptease huh? Lemme get comfortable.” Mickey grinned and jumped onto the sofa. 

 

The boys had parked up the van somewhere on the road to Massachusetts in a truck stop so they could have something to eat and use the restroom. That had been the plan. But somehow Blake persuaded Yev to join him in the back of the van and he was now balls deep in his boyfriend. 

“Fuck. Harder babe. Fuck me harder.” Yev coached Blake, who was beginning to wish he’d double wrapped with two condoms. He was so close it was pathetic. 

“I’m not gonna last...” Blake warned and held tightly onto Yev’s hips as he pounded into him from behind. 

“Just do it. I’m gonna come. Fuck...!” 

Blake picked up the pace and lost a bit of rhythm but it was enough to tip them both over the edge within a second of each other. 

“We’re totally getting arrested for public indecency before this weekend is over.” Blake slapped Yev’s ass as he pulled out and removed the condom, tying it off and tossing it into the trash bag they were using for their snack wrappers. 

“Probably shoulda checked the laws for each state. No use draggin my ass to Harvard if I’m gonna have a felony by the time I graduate.”

Blake pulled him into a soft kiss. “I love you.”

“Love you too. You okay?”

“Sure. Why?” Blake nodded. 

“Just checking.” Yev winked. “Can we eat now? I really worked up an appetite.”

“Hey. I did all the work.”

 

Mickey was flat out on the sofa, snoring softly as he recovered from the several hours long fuck fest he’d been part of that afternoon. Ian had really taken him apart, put him back together just to take him apart again. More than once. Now he needed a rest and Ian was happy to let his love catch up on some sleep. He grabbed his cellphone and dashed off a quick message to Debbie. 

“ _Hey! Franny can stay at our place tomorrow if you like. Return the favor for tonight_ 😀”

He pottered around the kitchen and started making his famous pasta sauce for dinner. Debbie replied to his message not long after. 

“ _What do you mean?? What favor_?”

Ian felt his stomach lurch but fought back the urge to panic. He dialed Debbie’s number and paced anxiously while he waited for her to pick up. 

“Hey!”

“Debs. Isn't Lily with you?”

“No.” Debbie answered. “Is she meant to be?”

“She told me she was spending the day with Franny and staying at your place tonight!” Ian was starting to get frantic. 

“Shit. No. Franny is here but not Lily. Hang on. I’ll see what she says...” Debbie went off and Ian could only hear muffled voices. When she came back on the line her voice was panicked too. 

“Franny says Lily told her she was spending the day with you guys. She doesn’t know where she is.” 

“Fuck! I gotta go. If Franny hears from her give me a call.”

Ian hung up and ran to wake Mickey. It was panic stations and he needed help. 

 

Within the first hour Ian and Mickey had called every person they’d ever met and trawled the neighborhood, finding no sight or sound of Lily. The only people they hadn’t called was the boys, since they were well on their way to Massachusetts by now. 

“Where the fuck is she?” Mickey snapped, trying Lily’s number again. It rang a few times and then went to voicemail again. 

“We need to call the cops Mick.” Ian sighed. 

“Fuck! What the fuck are we gonna do? They’re gonna take her away from us. We can’t look after her...” Mickey was flapping and Ian pulled him into his arms. 

“Hey. You need to calm down. Remember when Yev was nine and he took himself off to Svetlana’s without telling us? This is just like that. We’ll find her.”

Mickey shoved Ian in the chest. “We were too busy fucking around and now she’s out there on her own doing fuck knows what.”

“That’s enough Mick. We took her at her word because she’s never lied to us before.”

“She’s just a little girl Ian.” Mickey’s eyes were wide. 

Ian stroked Mickey’s cheek tenderly. “She’s a smart, strong and capable little girl. Who’s gonna be in a world of trouble when she gets back.”

They worked out that Lily had been gone for nearly seven hours. That was a scary amount of time for a twelve year old to be out in Chicago on their own. 

Mickey nodded. “Call the cops. I’ll call Alice.”

 

Blake was taking a turn at driving and drumming his fingers on the steering wheel while Yev fiddled with the radio dial. Yev’s cellphone started to ring and he reached into the back of the van to pick it up.  

“Hey Lils. Missing us already?” Yev greeted. 

He was meant with silence and then a shuddering sob. 

“Lily? What’s going on Lils? You there?” Yev sat upright. 

Blake immediately slowed the van down and pulled into the next lay-by. 

“Yev...I need you...” Lily wept down the line. 

“Okay. Calm down. Tell me where you are.”

“A bus station. It’s cold.”

“Are you near home? Talk to me.”

Blake was beside him and starting to panic. “Is she okay?”

Yev concentrated on Lily. “What happened?”

“I went to see my Mom. I baked her some of her favorite cookies and I wanted to take them to her. I wanted to say goodbye and let her know that I would be okay with Dad and Pops. But I got the bus and then it stopped here and I’m not where I thought I would be. I just want to go home. I’m sorry.” Lily burst into tears. 

“Ah Lils. Okay. Stay calm. We need to figure out where you are. Is there anyone at the bus station? Someone who works there?”

“There’s a lady checking tickets...”

Yev’s heart leapt in his chest. “Great! Go over to the lady, say excuse me and put her on the phone so I can talk to her.”

“Okay.”

Yev reached out and grabbed Blake’s hand. He moved the phone away from his mouth as he spoke to Blake. 

“Call Dad or Pops. Tell them I’m talking to Lily.”

An older female voice on Yev’s phone pulled him back. 

“Hello ma’am. My little sister has got on the wrong bus and she’s a lost her way. Can you tell me where she is so I can come pick her up please?”

The lady chuckled softly. “Sure. She’s in Columbus.”

“Ohio?” Yev thanked every god for his luck when he realized he was in the same state. 

“Yeah. Where she supposed to be?”

“Chicago. It’s a long story. I’m not far outside of Cleveland, I’m on my way to collect her now. Could you give me the zip code for my sat nav please?” 

The lady reeled it off and Yev typed it into the device on the dash. 

“Thank you ma’am. It’s gonna take me a couple of hours. Do you have somewhere safe for her to wait for me?”

“Sure. She can sit tight in my office and watch cartoons.”

“Ma’am you’re a lifesaver. Thank you.”

“Just ask for Nora when you arrive. That’s me.”

“Thank you so much Nora. I’m Yev. My sister is Lily. I’ll be with you as soon as I can.”

 

Mickey sagged in relief when he spoke to Yev. When they hung up, knowing the three kids were heading home soon, he collapsed into Ian’s arms. 

“It’s okay.” Ian whispered and kissed Mickey’s forehead. 

“I was so scared.”

“Me too.” Ian agreed. “But she’s okay. The boys will look after her.”

There was a knock at the door and Ian opened it to let Alice in. They’d already called her but Blake’s call came through before they talked to the police. 

“Hello gentlemen. Quite a day, huh?” Alice smiled brightly. 

Mickey was pale and shaky. “We fucked up.”

Alice snorted. “Of course you didn’t. Lily fucked up. And it will be sorted. Don’t worry about it.”

“You gonna take her away?” Mickey bit his lip. 

Alice stared at him like he was crazy. “Mikhailo. We’ve talked about this. YOU are her FATHER. She fucks up, you decide the punishment. I just get involved if you decide that beating the shit out of your kids is a suitable punishment. And I know that’s not the case. Stop worrying that I’m taking your kids away. Fact is, I’m working my ass off to make sure that they stay here forever. Now, make us some coffee and we can think up some imaginative punishments before she gets back.”

Ian grinned at the woman they’d grown to kinda love and the calming effect she had on Mickey. 

 

Nora was a tiny woman with fiery red hair that had a smile that could light up Columbus. 

“She’s just through here. She’s a little sad. Thinks she’s in trouble.” 

Yev and Blake made their way into the office and Lily promptly burst into tears when she saw her brothers. 

“I’m so sorry.” She sobbed and Yev held out his arms for her to run into. He hugged her close and bit back his own tears. Blake reached out and stroked Lily’s blonde hair from her face. 

“You scared the shit out of us, Lils.” He sighed, trembling all over when he could see Lily was safe. 

“I’m sorry.”

She looked so bereft that Blake couldn’t tell her off anymore. 

“All’s well that ends well.” Nora spoke softly from the doorway. “I’ll grab you some sodas.”

Yev called Ian and let him know Lily was with them and they were driving home. Blake was about to speak when his stomach rumbled loudly 

“Hungry?” Yev arched his brow. 

Blake shrugged. “Guess so.”

Lily opened the bag on her lap. “Cookie?”

The boys looked at her, then each other and then back to Lily before bursting into soft laughter. 

 

It was Blake’s turn to drive after Yev did the first stretch home. Lily had fallen asleep in the pile of blankets in the back of the van almost immediately, the exhaustion kicking in when her adventure was over. Blake had curled up back there with her and napped before swapping with Yev at a rest stop. Yev crawled into the space carefully but Lily stirred and snuggled up to him when he lay down. 

“Are you angry with me?” Lily asked quietly. 

Yev breathed slowly. “A little. But mostly I’m glad you’re safe.”

“I didn’t mean to make anyone angry. I thought I would be able to see my mom and be home before anyone even noticed I was gone.” Lily sniffed. 

Yev exhaled. “I know. But it was a stupid thing to do on your own.”

“I know.”

They fell asleep, clinging to each other for dear life. 

 

When the van pulled into the street it was almost light again on Saturday morning. Blake was in the back of the van with Lily up front while Yev was driving. Ian appeared in the doorway when they parked the van. Lily was nervous but she just wanted a hug from her Pops so she abandoned her fear and ran up the yard and into his arms. 

“I’m sorry Pops. I’m so sorry.” She wailed into his neck. 

Ian squeezed her tightly and rubbed her back. “It’s okay. You’re okay. Come on inside.” He set her down and opened the door wider to let the kids inside. 

Mickey was standing just inside the door and when Lily saw him she cried harder. He was pale white, his eyes were tired and red and she knew she had done that to him. 

“Daddy.” She wept, shaking uncontrollably. 

Mickey grabbed her up and hugged her. “Don’t ever do that to us again.”

“I won’t.” She promised. 

Mickey released her and wiped his moist eyes. “I’m gonna fill the tub. You need a bath.”

Lily nodded and bit her lip. “I love you Dad.”

Mickey nodded back and left the room. 

Ian stroked Lily’s hair. “He loves you too. He just can’t speak well right now.”

“I know.” Lily sighed heavily. 

 

After a quick meal of scrambled eggs and toast, a hot bath and fresh pyjamas Lily was tucked up in bed and fast asleep. The familiarity of home made her realize how stupid she had been but she was too tired to dwell on it right now. She was bone tired. 

Yev and Blake were like zombies and gratefully accepted the camomile tea Ian lived on. 

“You did good.” Ian assured them both. 

“I can’t believe she did that.” Blake said, playing with the string on his tea bag. 

Mickey sighed into his cup as he took a drink. “She misses her Mom. All this change in a short space of time...maybe we’re moving too fast for her. Maybe she’s not ready to leave her old life behind just yet.” 

Blake shook his head. “No. She wants this. I think she just wanted to say goodbye. She didn’t get that chance with...him...”

Ian nodded in agreement. “She’s safe and that’s what matters. We can talk to her about it when she wakes up.”

Yev stretched his arms above his head. “I need to sleep.”

Blake yawned. “Let’s go to bed.”

When they were about to leave the room Mickey pulled them into a hug, both at the same time. 

“She’s lucky to have you two.” He murmured. “And so are we.”

Yev smiled at his father. “Love you guys.”

When they were alone again in their kitchen Ian held his man close and pressed butterfly kisses all over his neck and throat. 

“This house only makes sense when we’ve got our kids all under one roof.” He mused. 

“For now. He might not have made it to Harvard this weekend but it’s only a matter of time.” Mickey sighed. 

“Fuck it. We’ll all move to Massachusetts.” Ian joked and made Mickey laugh. 

 

Lily woke up to Oliver pawing at her face. She scratched his ears lovingly. 

“Time to face the music huh Ollie?”

The cat purred loudly and she took that as agreement. 

It was mid-afternoon when she crept into the living room. Ian was at work but Mickey was working on his laptop in his usual spot. 

“Hey Dad.” She greeted apprehensively. 

He looked up with a smile. He was tired but looked much better than he did when she got back. 

“Come here Sweets.” He set aside his work and removed his glasses in a way that was so familiar. 

Lily crawled into his lap and they silently hugged for a long time. 

“Are you mad at me?”

“I’m so mad at you.” Mickey went for honesty, with a heavy heart. 

“I’m sorry.” Lily snuggled closer and listened to Mickey’s heart beating slightly faster than normal in his chest. 

“I’m mad because I was scared. Anything could’ve happened to you out there and I wasn’t there to keep you safe. That’s my job. Me and Ian, that’s what we’re here to do and you put us in a situation where we couldn’t do that. You lied to us. That’s why I’m mad at you.” He explained slowly and calmly. 

“I wish I hadn’t done it.” She whispered. 

“I know. But you did. And that’s why we’re hurt.”

“What’s going to happen to me?”

Mickey shook his head. “I gotta wait for Ian before we talk about that. But it’s gonna be okay.” 

Lily nodded and settled against him, falling asleep in his arms to the repetitive thrumming of his heartbeat. 

 

When Ian got him from work it was late but Lily was still awake, brushing out Oliver’s fur tangles with a wire comb. The whole day had been spent sleeping and napping on the sofa as the shock subsided. He smiled at her in greeting. 

“Hi Pops.”

“Hello Lils. You alright?”

She nodded sadly. “I’m alright.”

“Come give me a hug.”

He scooped her up and held her close. “Where’s Mickey?”

“Taking a shower. He was working out in the yard and got all gross.”

“You had dinner?”

Lily nodded. “He made mac and cheese.”

Ian chuckled, knowing that was Lily’s go-to meal when she was feeling sad.  

Ian dropped Lily onto the sofa and reached down to tickle Oliver under his chin. “Hey Ollie.”

Mickey appeared in the doorway wearing sweats pants and an old t-shirt that belonged to Ian. The redhead almost drooled at how hot his man looked. With bare feet and damp hair he was Ian’s picture of perfection. 

“We gonna get this over with?” He asked Ian with a small smile. 

Lily tensed nervously when Ian nodded. 

“Let’s talk.” He agreed and they gathered on the sofa. 

“You know what you did wrong, right Sweets? We don’t gotta go over it all.” Mickey started and Lily nodded with wide eyes. 

“Don’t gimme the eyes. They’re not gonna work on me this time. This shit is serious.”

Lily nodded again. “I know. And I’m really sorry I did that. I wanted to see my Mom so much and I just didn’t handle it well.”

Ian smiled. “We get that. And people make mistakes. That’s life. We’ll get over it. But the thing that made it so much worse was that you lied. You planned it all out and you lied to us. We’ve trusted you all this time and let you have freedom to come and go because you made us think we could trust that you wouldn’t lie. We’re totally devastated that you lied.”

Lily’s bottom lip wobbled. “I’m so sorry.”

“We know. And you got a fright so bad that I doubt you’ll ever do something so dumb again. But there’s gotta be consequences.” Ian told her gently. 

Lily took a deep breath. “Okay. Give it to me.”

Mickey took no pleasure in reeling off her punishments. “You’re grounded for a month. You go to school. You come home. Weekends you’re home. That means no sleepovers at Franny’s, no hanging out with Dylan and no dance class. You do whatever shitty chores we think up with a smile on your face, starting tomorrow with helping me clean out the back yard. No cellphone. No internet.” 

Lily held her breath when Mickey stopped. “Is that everything?”

He glanced at Ian and they both nodded. “Yes.” He confirmed. “And we talked to Alice. She’s going to speak to the hospital and find out if your mom is any closer to having visitors.”

Lily smiled weakly. “Thank you. I just want to see her one more time.”

Mickey rubbed his eyes. “I know Sweets. But it wasn’t just because of you that we couldn’t make it happen. Your mom is very fragile right now and seeing you could set her back. I know that sounds horrible but you know enough about how mental illness works to understand that now. It’s nothing to do with you personally, it’s anything that reminds her of the past.”

Ian nodded along. “It sucks Lils, but as soon as we can get you there we will do it. I promise.”

Lily hugged both men tightly. “Thank you. I’m going to bed now.”

“Love you Sweets.” Mickey pecked her forehead. 

“Love you too Dad.”

Ian ruffled her hair. “Go get into bed. I’ll come tuck you in.”

When she left the room Ian wrapped his arms around Mickey. 

“Ugh that was rough.”

Mickey ran his hands down the starched blue shirt front of Ian’s uniform. “She aged me twenty years in one day.”

“Thank God for our boys.” Ian leaned down to kiss Mickey tenderly. 

“You have a good shift at work?” Mickey clung to Ian for a little longer. 

“Yeah. I got a call out to a little baby boy with breathing problems. He was so sweet. Really took a liking to me. I had to stay with him for over an hour to keep him calm while the meds kicked in.” Ian grinned. 

“You’ve always been good with babies.” Mickey smiled warmly.

“Yeah. Maybe our fostering days aren’t over.” Ian mused aloud and received a shocked look from Mickey. 

“You serious?”

Ian shrugged. “Not just yet. But one day. When the boys are sorted and out of the house. Maybe.”

Mickey started to laugh. “You’re full of surprises Gallagher.”

Ian kissed him again. “It’s not a surprise that I’m not done being a dad with you yet. Best years of my life.”

“Mine too.” Mickey agreed. “Go tuck the pre-teen tearaway in then come to bed. I’ve missed you.”

Ian beamed with delight and saluted as he left the room. Mickey locked up the house and found Oliver on the sofa, purring up at him. 

“Any chance I can get laid without your beady eyes on me tonight?” Mickey asked hopefully. 

Oliver hopped off the sofa and followed Mickey into his bedroom. Mickey sighed heavily and patted the fur ball on the head. “Didn’t think so, you kinky bastard.”

 

 

 

 


End file.
